


The Bicycle of Teambuilding

by CaveDwellers



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Multi, NC-17, Oops, Oral Sex, Orgy, Rubypile, Shameless Smut, Vaginal Fingering, commission, gems as g-spots, hire a dwell, ruby fusion, ruby meta, used to make sex better, you might also notice that I am laying down the groundwork for a sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 13:14:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7440574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaveDwellers/pseuds/CaveDwellers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team Ruby's ship is broken and unfit for travel to planet Neptune (where Jasper obviously is). They make do with this unfortunate setback by taking the time to becoming properly acquainted with our very own Eternal Flame, who has not associated with her fellow rubies in nearly six thousand years. Fortunately, it seems that bonding with other rubies is a bit like riding a bicycle: you never really forget how it's done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bicycle of Teambuilding

**Author's Note:**

> It should be noted upfront that I have fully rejected Eyeball-Ruby's name of Eyeball, and will henceforth refer to her as Sarge.
> 
> This is a commission for Alasdelamor, who really loves Team Ruby! I've never written a sex scene with so many participants before, so that was a fun challenge! 
> 
> While I came up with the sex scenes, credit for the meta in this fic 100% goes to the amazingly talented Empyrisan here on AO3. They have been tirelessly grinding out Ruby meta for weeks, and I couldn't resist injecting some of their awesome world building into this fic (with their permission, of course). Please check out their stuff and be on the lookout for their Team Ruby meta fic, which should be coming soon! 
> 
> If you would also like to commission me, you totally should! Please see [this](http://theladyforester.tumblr.com/post/144863034650/commission-me) post on my tumblr for more details!

The rubies’ top-like vessel tottered in mid air, trembling like a top as it followed the scratchy black artificial black hole that seemed to be leading it, marionette-like, into the sky. When the ship _twisted_ into unnatural proportions and seemed to be sucked out of a crazy straw in just a few quick moments, the Crystal Gems and Lapis gaped.

Then Amethyst speaks. "Man, rubies are _dumb_."

Garnet smiles like she alone is privy to the best kept secret of all. "Not all of them."

There is another pause. They are all staring at the place where the ship had last been, mildly dumbstruck at their own audacity and the fact that the rubies really believed Steven when he said that Jasper was on the planet Neptune, of all places. What were the odds that something like this—that a plan as ridiculous as 'Distract them with baseball'—would go over so well?

But it did. Here they all are, neither dead nor crushed nor even maimed. Thanks to Sapphire's surprising home-run, they had even won the game.

"Well," Lapis says finally. "I'm going to my side of the barn now. If you want to talk to me, just ignore that part of yourself until the urge goes away."

With that, she phases back into her typical flowing skirt and halter top and pads, barefoot, back into the broken building.

Peridot falls to her knees. She is staring at her small green fingers. "I can't believe they weren't looking for _me,”_ she breathes. "Has there been some mistake? Is Yellow Diamond just playing mind games with me?"

Suddenly, the little gem is on her feet. "Is she watching me right now, relishing my bafflement?" she cries, looking around as if a spy for the Diamond Authority might jump out at any moment.

Peridot turns her head towards the sky. "Huh? Is that the game we're playing now, you _clod?”_

After a beat she seems to realize that, if Yellow Diamond is listening, then she has just heard Peridot call her a clod again. Her pallor pales notably, becoming more honeydew melon than lime. With a loud, squeaking croak, she makes a mad scramble back into the barn with a shout of "I'm not trying to talk to you, Lazuli, I'm just going to my side of the barn!"

"There was not near as much cheating in that game as I thought there would be," Pearl muses. She touches a hand to her chin, seemingly impressed with this turn of events. Then she thinks of something, and turns to Garnet, "Well, if that's all of the excitement for today," she pauses, waiting for Garnet's nod of agreement "Then I think I'm going to go back to the temple."

"I'll go with you, P!" says Amethyst. "Doesn't look like Peri's going to be much fun while she's still freaking out like that, and I really don't care about playing with Lapis."

"Yeah, sure, why not," Pearl says in a surprisingly amiable manner. "Nice home run today, by the way. Your control on those tight turns when you're rolling has gotten quite impressive."

Amethyst's lilac cheeks darken, just slightly. "Aw, thanks, P. It wasn't nothin'."

They started walking, making for the warp pad that is about an earth mile or so away, when a _screech_ fills the air. It's like the squealing of tires on asphalt, only higher pitched, and it feels like it's coming from every direction at once. Something is breaking, screaming through the air, and they can't even see it.

"What the—?" Amethyst says, but she already has her whip out.

Pearl, likewise, has already drawn her spear and positioned it defensively.

Garnet summons her gauntlets and sinks into a stance next to the rest of her team. She's ready, but that's only because it—it can't be. It doesn't make _sense_ for this to happen. She didn't think the likelihood—

A blindingly red ship comes into view with a loud, sickening POP! and slams into the ground next to its previous indentation with enough force to make the barn visibly sway on its foundation, threatening to topple over. It doesn't, but everyone can hear Peridot predicting that it will from inside.

The ship is smoking. Dark grey clouds puff out from previously unnoticeable seams in its construction, wreathing it formidably.

The way that the five rubies topple out of the ship, however, is anything but formidable. It would actually be more accurate to call it a mad scramble for freedom, gracelessly pushing and shoving one another out of the exit hatch. The young ruby with the gem on her thigh, Leggy, is coughing unnecessarily, and their leader Doc is wiping soot from her yellow visor.

"Everybody here?" the small group's leader asks. She starts pointing at the various rubies. "One, two, three, four, and where is—oh, right. Five."

"What _happened?”_ asks Leggy, though she does seem to be afraid to know.

Sarge, grimacing as the flamboyant Navy helps to polish the gem in her eye, growls in distaste, though whether it is at the young ruby's ignorance or the situation in general it is hard to say.

"It seems our first impact damaged some of our hardware," Navy says with a frankly surprising level of authority. Who would have thought that someone who seemed so pleasantly unaffected by anything would be capable of such grounding composure? "Not surprising, all things considered, but we aren't going to be able to jump through worm holes to Neptune like this."

"Can't we just go there the old fashioned way, no jumping?" asks Sarge. She shakes her head once Navy steps away from her gem-eye, seeming to dismiss a certain level of disorientation that comes with having her gem touched.

"From what I saw before the screen glitched out, it would take too long," Doc says. "Too many light years."

"Tell me what's broken, and I'll fix it!" says Army, cracking her knuckles as if she anticipates being ordered punch the ship better. The gem on her bicep glints in the afternoon sunlight as if to concur.

"How bad do you think it is?" asks Doc, ignoring Army's enthusiasm. She is also ignoring the way that Leggy has started clinging to Sarge's arm and whimpering.

"I have a couple of ideas, but I'm going to need to wait for the engine to stop smoking first," Navy replies. "Either way, we're going to have to—oh, hello!" Suddenly her face breaks into a pleasant smile. "What a lovely coincidence that you all are still here! Do you have any spare parts for a vessel like this, by any chance? We're probably going to need a couple of C-45-6 gears and a JT-890 sprocket, at the very least. An entirely reprogrammed artificial black hole generator, otherwise."

Pearl seems torn between exasperation and wanting to talk shop about the ship. After exchanging a glance with Garnet, though, she says, "We don't have anything like that here. But we can probably improvise parts like that. As for the reprogramming, well, I'm sure Peridot would be able to manage something like that easily."

"That's true, they do have a peridot," Doc mutters. She considers, and then comes to a decision. "Okay, rubies! We are going to be here until our ship is fixed! These are the circumstances, so get comfortable with it!"

"Yes, Ruby!"

"Wait," Leggy says, as if on second thought. "Are we going to have to play more baseball?"

All of the rubies look to Steven, and then to Garnet. They can't seem to figure out which they presume to have the most authority over this. _“Are_ we?" asks Doc.

"If we do, we'll kick your butts this time!" cries Army gamely. She flexes, as if to prove her point. The movement makes her look vaguely cross-eyed.

"Uh, no! No, baseball is just a first-time-on-earth thing," Steven says, thinking fast. "Now you have to... help us fix our barn in return for us helping to fix your ship! And be friends with us!"

Doc makes a considering noise, but before she can actually reply Navy says, "That sounds like a perfectly lovely trade of services! Is that how human culture works? Are we participating in your culture right now?"

"Is this something we're supposed to be doing?" Leggy asks Sarge, whom she is still clinging to.

Sarge growls, and whether this is out of aggravation for the situation or Leggy's questions nobody is certain. "No, but we're doing it anyway."

"Show me what we're fixing! I'll fix it up better than it was before it was broken!" shouts Army competitively.

"Garnet," Pearl whispers at her. "This is going to be okay, right? Now that we know they only want Jasper, they shouldn't harm us at all. Right?"

Oh, Garnet thinks as her third eye passes along glimpses of what might happen in the next several days. This has the potential to be _very_ interesting.

"No," she tells Pearl aloud. "And, since they're here, we might as well take advantage of the fact they are willing to help."

"Okay, if you say so," Pearl says, but she doesn't sound convinced.

"Hey, Ruby!" Amethyst says to Army, who is still intently looking around for something to do. She has a smirk on her face that lets Garnet know she is planning on playing some kind of prank that will probably fly right over Army's head, but ultimately not hurt anyone. "I'll show you what's going on, compadre. Here, let's go this way!"

"Ooh, I want to help!" calls Steven, already jogging over to the two short gems. "Amethyst, wait up!"

Yes, this is really happening, Garnet thinks. It is very unlikely that anyone will be hurt by it, either. Might as well ride it out.

* * *

It takes longer than Garnet expects. Rubies are not known for their patience. Perhaps it is intimidation, she thinks. She can see the future, but she cannot see what is in other people's minds, so it is hard to say. There is an element of familiarity that they must feel with her, because she is, after all, made from a fellow ruby, but she is _not_ a ruby herself at all.

When one comes from a culture in which combinations are the only form of fusion around, and are only ever used for brief, easily justifiable tasks, it is understandably difficult to know what to do with a gem who is indefinitely fused with an _other_. The rubies don’t know what to do with Garnet. It has been two days now, but she has only ever caught them giving her frequent looks from their little huddles, muttering amongst themselves.

It was going to either be Doc or Navy who approached her, by her estimation. They are the two gems with the most unique uniform designs, which probably means they are the two highest ranking gems on the team. That being said, Garnet isn't wholly surprised to find little Doc standing before her though, arms akimbo and yellow pilot's visor polished and as shiny as the gem proudly positioned in her chest.

"Fus—Garnet," she says. "There is something we—err, _I_ would like to talk to you about."

"Yes, Ruby?" says Garnet politely. They are a little ways off from the rest of the gems and Steven, who are putting the finishing touches on the barn that they have repaired in record time (but then, they would have—not only is it five extra sets of hands helping out with moving lumber and nailing down shingles, but rubies are task-driven gems, and they are motivated to work hard in all circumstances; that is their way). If there is going to be a more private space, then Garnet doesn't know it.

Doc starts to speak, and then pauses. "Do—you already know what I'm going to say, don't you?" she says in realization.

"I know possibilities," Garnet replies. "Things you _might_ say. But I do not know with complete certainty what will actually be said to me. So, I'm listening like I don't know, because I really don't."

Doc's cheeks puff slightly, and her eyes narrow from behind her visor. Then she says "What's it like, being fused with a gem that isn't a ruby? Are-are you even still _in_ there?"

"Ruby is here," Garnet says, holding out her left palm. "But I am myself more than I am Ruby or Sapphire. They are not present the way you are present in ruby combinations. It's entirely different."

Doc doesn't look like she fully understands, but she physically waves that off. "Well, can Ruby hear me?"

"She can, yes."

"We want her to come out, and spend some time with us."

Garnet thought that this might be what all of the looks and whispers were about, but hearing it aloud, hearing it so _bluntly_ —it takes her aback. Of course, only a ruby could do such a thing.

Rubies are not solo operators, in typical gem culture. They travel in pairs, at the very least, but more often than that they travel in groups of three or better. This isn't to say that they are not powerful as individuals, because they absolutely can be, but they tend to function best when part of a _unit_. Rubies are driven, but distractible. Multiple rubies focused on the same task tend to get much better results than a single ruby working alone—and they can manage it faster, as well. Being so frequently assigned in groups, and then so frequently expected to combine, and certain sub-cultures naturally evolve to help make these things easier and more efficient. Rubies tend to thrive when they are in contact with others of their kind, and Earth is not wrong to refer to them as the gems of _emotion_. Knowing this about each other, rubies are able to keep one another in equilibrium. They find ways to bond and satisfy their needs for emotion, while simultaneously strengthening their team-unit and their combination efficacy (speed, coordination, size, etc).

It also helps that when a ruby gets rough, as they are wont to do on occasion, then there is no fear of hurting someone if they are to get rough with a fellow ruby.

There are a great many ways for rubies to achieve and maintain closeness amongst themselves. Garnet has been able to pick out, through Ruby's help, the evidence pointing to this team's primary means of maintaining cohesiveness. There is a part of her, a part that is not wholly _Garnet_ , that cannot resist the offer. Rubies were made to work in groups, and Ruby has been without her community for millennia. The longing is almost unbearable, now that they are here in a nonthreatening manner.

"I do not unfuse for just anything," Garnet feels the need to say.

"We don't understand that," Doc tells her bluntly. "But, since you are half a ruby, we—err, _I_ can respect that. Still, if what Pearl says is true than you haven't had the company of gems who actually understand you for centuries, and since you have been entangled with a sapphire that entire time, we think there are things you could teach us. And we want to learn."

It doesn't take Garnet more than a second to understand that Doc has shifted to speaking to Ruby directly, pretending as though Garnet is not functioning as a middleman at all.

For all that it is not wholly hers, the longing that surges up in her gut is acute all the same. Garnet cannot tamp it down. It is very difficult to say no to.

 _'Go',_ is the response from the blue side of her being. It is not bitter, or jealous, but rather warm and encouraging. _'I know you've missed it.'_

_'But…’_

_'It doesn't mean you care any less. It doesn't mean you are a bad person.'_

Garnet, whose form has already shivered once from the indecision, lets herself go in order for Sapphire and Ruby to be standing side by side again.

"You're not hurting anything," Sapphire tells her partner, giving her a wholly unbothered kiss on the cheek. She rubs Ruby's shoulder blade with her gem-free hand, and smiles a smile that is… oh, it's almost _wicked_. "You're going to have a lot of fun. Learning experience on both sides."

Ruby looks at her, questioning at first—are you _sure?_ —but it's very hard to fight the draw of the invitation. Her culture. The gem she was before she stumbled into Sapphire's life. Bonding with other rubies is as much as part of her makeup as the red hue of her color palette. It is how rubies are _bred_.

But Sapphire… she doesn't want to be separated, either. They have been separated _so often_ this last year, it's almost easy for Ruby to be in her own form alone again. Even for this. That's not why they became Garnet indefinitely; they didn't do it so she could be separated from her Sapphire. How to reconcile this division of self?

Sapphire touches her hand, leans in and kisses the corner of her eye. "They could use my help with repairing the ship, anyway," she says with another smile, and Ruby… oh, she cannot deny her Sapphire. Not for anything, not even to avoid the discomfort of separation. "I'll get all the details later. Go along."

Ruby cannot jump at the soft, casual swat on her backside that urges her forward. It's Sapphire, there's nothing to be jumpy for.

Of course, when she looks to her side again, Sapphire is already gone. Curse her for being such a quick little thing. (There again, would Ruby have ever actually gone through with this if Sapphire were still around? Probably not, she acknowledges. Still, separation anxiety. This is the farthest apart she's been from Sapphire since waking up in Peridot's ship, she's sure of it).

The look that Doc is giving the two of them does make her a little uncomfortable, though. It's a look of wonder, which she doesn't mind as much as the complete and utter look of _bafflement_ that comes along with it.

"That is some kind of protection," Doc says, mostly contemplative. "Never would have thought of that myself."

Ruby laughs. It's a nervous sort of laugh, but it’s also mixed with relief, because Doc _gets_ it.

Sapphires weren't always so rare. Ruby doesn't know the full story, but back when she belonged to Homeworld she heard rumors from older gems on remote scouting missions (where the Diamond Authority couldn’t hear them talking like this) that sapphires used to be even more abundant than rubies. Powerful corundums, and one out of five blessed with the power of some variety of future vision, all of them with some sort of affinity for cold elementals. They were nearly all wiped out, though. Nobody had ever been able to say why, the older gems murmured; there are rumors, of course, but never any confirmations of this. The result was the same, though. Suddenly, it was _rubies_ that were in abundance. Rubies, with their strong arms and fire elements and their ability to follow orders without question. Ever since, though, one particularly ancient soldier told Ruby, rubies have been unable to resist the urge to protect sapphires. It's unreasonable, the old gem had said, but it's intense, and it's impossible to ignore. Perhaps it is their shared corundum heritage. Hard to say.

Ruby has never been able to figure out the rest of the story, really. Sapphire, having been made during a time where those of her gemkind were a rarity at best, has no answers from her side of the spectrum, either. Still, a part of Ruby is glad to know that, after all this time, her fellow rubies wouldn't—can’t—look down on her for this choice she's made.

"Wasn't my intention, to begin with," she tells Doc. "But this works just as well."

Doc nods. “Don’t know if I could have done it, myself, but I get why you did,” she admits. Then she shakes her head, and resumes a demeanor that is more appropriate for a leader. “But that’s not the point; come with me, Ruby. There is a lot of catching up to do!”

She can’t believe she’s doing this.

Oh, but she is. Sapphire has already left her to it, and Sapphire expects _stories_. Ruby can’t let her down, and she doesn’t want to for more than just Sapphire’s sake.

She’s doing this. After over five-thousand years, she is finally going to spend some quality time with other rubies.

She can feel her fingers trembling as Doc takes her hand and leads her to where the rest of the team is in the ship (repairs on it will begin tomorrow). If she had a stomach, she thinks she might want to throw up. It also feels warm, and comfortable, like returning home after too much time away. Like figuring out how to control her element for the first time. Her culture, her people—it’s welcoming, in a way. Old memories are surfacing, things Ruby figured she had long since forgotten, and an ancient mindset is rousing itself, one that craves group cohesion more than anything.

Ruby is doing this, and oh, for all of her apprehension, the rest of her cannot _wait_ to begin.

* * *

The rubies' ship, despite not being able to travel, is not so broken that it is unlivable inside. It is a small space that lacks separate compartments; rather, everything is located in one round room. Considering the size of rubies, it is actually not cramped in here. Even with the addition of one more, they are almost, but not quite, on top of each other. They brush against one another when they maneuver between controls, but do not have to climb over one another. It is how rubies like to be, when they're in groups. Close by, but also far enough away that they may have their own space if they choose. The lighting within is all different shades of sunset, various oranges and reds. It is not hard to see by, exactly, but it is not the yellow light of the sun, or the white of fluorescent lamps, and it does take some getting used to.

Of course, just the technology Ruby can see and identify is leagues beyond what she remembers gemtech being, but that doesn't surprise her in the least.

"You actually got her to come?" asks Leggy, shocked. She looks at Ruby as if she never expected to see her again, once she disappeared into something that wasn't just a bigger version of herself. New gems all have that same look of perpetual wonder about them. Ruby wonders—has Leggy even been around long enough for these kinds of bonding rituals to become a part of her norm? The team had seemed fairly cohesive when they combined at the end of the baseball game, according to Garnet's memories, but Leggy had been at the bottom of the pyramid (the easiest spot to fuse from).

"Of course I did," Doc scoffs with a wave of her hand. The hand that isn't holding Ruby's, at any rate. She releases the latter now, to gesture. "Rubies! This is Ruby. She hasn't been with other rubies in…” Doc pauses, glances over her shoulder. "Actually, I don't know how long?"

Drawing attention to the hiatus is not exactly the most comfortable experience. It makes Ruby long for the soothing coolness of Sapphire's touch, the low reassurance of her voice. "Um, it-it's been more than five-thousand years," she manages to say without sounding _too_ nervous. "Almost six, actually."

"Six thousand?" exclaims Army, throwing up her arms. "How do you even _live_ that long without other rubies?!"

"She has a sapphire, Ruby," Navy says. She is smiling, and the expression is almost coy. "I hear that makes a big difference."

"Err," Ruby says eloquently. "I-I mean, I _love_ Sapphire; I would do anything for her. She—she’s my… my everything."

Navy tilts her head to the side, one hand propped up on her hip. She looks more considering than judgmental. "That sounds lovely, actually," she remarks. Ruby doesn't miss the look she exchanges with Doc. Older and higher ranked rubies tend to express their individuality with visual mediums a bit more, and if the way those two display their projections are indicative of anything, then Doc is probably higher ranked than Navy, but not by much.

Ruby doesn't flinch when Navy approaches her, hand falling from her hip. She does, however, catch her breath when she finds herself in closer proximity to a fellow ruby than she has in millennia.

"I'm willing to presume," Navy murmurs, reaching up and plucking at one of the ends of the ribbon Ruby has tied around her hair and forehead. "That there are things you know that have been long since forgotten. Things you've discovered with that sapphire that no ruby would ever think to try alone."

From somewhere behind Navy, Sarge grunts, though whether it is in distaste or agreement… Ruby actually can't tell from here. Sarge just has such a _gruff_ air about her.

"A-are they going to fight…?" asks Leggy uncertainly, shuffling her feet.

"No," Army replies helpfully. "You'd know if they were about to fight."

"Watch and learn, newbie," Doc tells her. "Ruby has been alive more years than you have minutes."

"’M sure there are things that have come up since I've been gone that I don't know much about, either," Ruby says, ignoring the commentary running in the background. She's not quite as squeaky-voiced as she expects herself to be. This is definitely _not_ Sapphire in front of her, but Navy is another ruby, and there are some patterns you become too familiar with that you do not forget how to fall into them again, even after five-thousand years. Being with other rubies is one of them.

She's not shocked or surprised when she is kissed. Rather, she finds her palms rising of their own volition, stroking along the outside of large thighs, up over the generous curve of a round bottom. She tastes the sigh that is uttered against her bottom lip, and feels the warm pressure of a gem pressing into her belly as Navy curls her arms around Ruby’s shoulders and leans in close. Without further ado, she lifts her leg and drapes it languidly over Ruby’s hip. There is a little hum of encouragement when Ruby hooks an arm just under her knee and draws her _in_ until their pelvises have bumped together.

This is… nothing like Sapphire, nothing at all, but it is also _good_.

Rubies aren’t quite as bad as quartzes, but they are certainly not what one might consider subtle. That being said, when Ruby hears the catcalls from Army and Doc, a part of her cannot resist the smirk that plays across her lips as she severs the kiss between herself and Navy.

Her confidence sort of stutters when Navy’s leg wraps a little more securely about her, and then Ruby feels a pelvis nudges against hers. Much like the catcalls, it is not a subtle gesture. It is also made with magenta-flushed cheeks and parted lips, eyes darkened with invitation and maybe just a little bit of challenge.

Navy, it seems, is the sort who beckons domination.

“See, newbie?” says Doc. “You could make anyone wet if you act like that.”

“Is that something I _want_ to do?” asks Leggy, fidgeting. Her tone is skeptical, but her voice is breathless, aroused despite herself (or, Ruby thinks, without her own awareness).

“This was her first mission,” murmurs Navy in response to the look on Ruby’s face. Arms and leg still around Ruby, she nods to Sarge. “Our team needed to… ah, fill a vacancy on an accelerated schedule, and Ruby picked her up from Kindergarten the day before we left Homeworld.”

It is very difficult to see why _Sarge_ , of all rubies, might have picked Leggy out of a crowd of freshly emerged rubies, especially when the latter did not exude the untamed aggression and wile that is so typical of a newborn ruby (like—well, like Army, only less refined). But there again, Leggy does seem to have a tendency to hide behind Sarge when she’s nervous or particularly skittish—like now, actually. Leggy has somehow managed to inch her way half-behind Sarge, and also half clinging to her arm.

Because Leggy is on the gruffer gem’s sighted side, Sarge does not have to work to glance at her. It is not a rough look, or even an annoyed one, but rather one of tolerance and affection. _You’ll understand it all soon._

Whatever happened to make Sarge choose Leggy, Ruby thinks, it was not typical. This also proves that Sarge isn’t as scary and gruff as she seems—she can’t be, to make such a shy gem trust her so much, so soon.

“Don’t forget the part where it took a peridot, a quartz, and Ruby and I in order to catch her when she made her mind up to run for it,” says Army with a nostalgic snort of amusement. She jerks her thumb in Sarge and Leggy’s direction. The latter does not shrink at the reference, but she does look a little sheepish.

“The others were too noisy and boisterous,” she mumbles.

That strikes a chord with Ruby. It is apparently a rather loud chord, because it causes Navy to withdraw; she isn’t snubbed or bitter, but rather intrigued, watching for what Ruby will do next. She is soon distracted when Doc motions for a softly muttered word off to the side.

Ruby is strong, even for a corundum. It is one of her most useful contributions to fusions, and she knows that fusion is something she is inherently _good_ at, even amongst fellow rubies. Her teams were always workable, even when they weren’t streamlined and cohesive. Ruby has the compassion to bend where others will not budge, or would rather break instead—it’s not always the best solution, per se, but for the short term, or for emergencies, then it is not a bad one.

Of course, those were also the very reasons she wasn’t exactly the most popular ruby in the Kindergarten, either. She cannot help looking at Leggy and seeing bits of herself. Maybe it’s just that same old compassion rearing its head again. It feels like a more personal connection, though.

She smiles, and she hopes she doesn’t seem too awkward. “Yeah, other new rubies can really be obnoxious, can’t they?”

Leggy’s eyes widen substantially. She is so taken aback she even forgets to hide behind Sarge. “You—wait, what? You too? _How?”_

Ruby shrugs, but she’s also grinning. “What, did you think you were the only one?”

“I… well, I mean. I _did,_ but—?”

Ruby shakes her head. “Nope. Happens sometimes. There are advantages to being gentle, though, you know.”

“Really?”

Leggy doesn’t protest when she is nudged forward by Army (after a quickly exchanged look with Sarge, anyway).

“I can show you, if you’d like.” It isn’t until Ruby says it that she realizes how much she _means_ _it._ She remembers feeling like an anomaly. Feeling alone in that. This isn’t to say that this team of rubies hasn’t done good things for Leggy, because they seem like a very tightly knit group (and their subsequent fusion abilities were top-notch, actually), but unless one of the others has had a similar experience—Navy, perhaps?—this may be something that only Ruby can do.

If she can help to show that being different is not necessarily synonymous with being bad or defective, then she’d like to do it.

Leggy looks tempted, but she still wrings her hands and shifts her weight from foot to foot. “I—but I’ve never…”

Ruby, feeling a surge of affection for the young gem, takes a step closer. “And I haven’t in a very, very long time, remember?” Leggy’s fidgeting pauses when Ruby touches her hands. Her eyes are wide, but the wonder seems a little different now. Tainted with temptation. “Do I have your permission?”

 _“Dooo itttt,”_ hisses Army.

When Leggy glances to Sarge, looking for a second opinion, the paler gem snorts and makes a rolling gesture of encouragement. Doc and Navy are still murmuring to each other off to the side, but the cadence of their language is slowing down.

“Do I have _your_ permission?” says Ruby again, not looking away. She gives Leggy’s fingers a gentle squeeze. _It is okay to have your own opinions, you’re allowed to say what you think; no hard feelings either way._

“I, uh.” Leggy looks around again, uncertain, but when Sarge and Army don’t offer anything more to go off of she rightly realizes that the rest of this is, truly, up to her. She looks down at her own hands, ensnared in Ruby’s, at the slight glint of the gem visible on Ruby’s left palm. Ruby waits patiently while she thinks it over. Finally, though, she nods. “Yes? Y-yes. You-you have m-my permission.”

Ruby smiles, genuinely pleased—and, okay, the idea of showing a new ruby one of the many ways to bond with her fellows is exciting for its own sake, too. “I’m glad.”

They are startled when there is a conspicuously slick noise from the sidelines, accompanied by a pleasantly surprised “Oh!”

It seems that, whatever Navy and Doc had been discussing, it has ended in physical confrontation. Navy is pushed back against Doc’s navigation panel, hands curled above her head and her spine arching to show off her every curve. Doc is leaning over her, grinning, a hand moving behind the illusionary fabric of her shorts.

“I said, phase them off,” Doc says. The bulge made from her hand moves faster, and if the wet sounds that accompany the action mean anything, then Navy is getting precisely what she wants.

“Why would I do that, when I love the feel of you—ah!” She arches higher when Doc bites at her neck and plunges her in _deep_. A small, high pitched moan leaks from her mouth, and she rolls her hips with the fingers that are inside of her, the navigation screen squeaking slightly from her movements. “Mm, yes, just like that,” Navy sighs when her hands are both pinned above her hand by one powerful, stocky arm. “It’s always so _lovely_ when you try to make me do things your way.”

Of course, she loses her languid composure when Doc’s hand stops moving. She lets out a needy whimper when the pilot’s hand withdraws completely. “Ruby…” she tries to entreat.

Instead, Navy finds herself bodily pressed into the large touch-screen, lined up from nose to pelvis, her hands still held down. “Phase, them, off,” Doc growls. “Do you think I’m playing now?”

There is a belabored groan, and in a brief flash of white light Navy’s skin-tight shorts are gone. “Fine,” she pouts. “You’re no fun.”

Of course, she isn’t pouting for much longer, because as soon as the shorts are gone she is being rewarded by a hand rubbing through the lips of her vulva, teasing both labia and clitoris, causing her to squeak and arch for a whole new reason. When Doc’s fingers push inside of her again and start moving hard, Navy moans loud enough to be heard above the team captain’s eager huffs and the sounds of her own wetness. Her large thighs tremble slightly when they open wider, trying to be more accommodating and inviting, and her fingers flex from where they are still being held captive by Doc’s free hand. Doc lets out a low chuckle of one who knows she has won the battle of wills.

Leggy turns to Ruby, wide-eyed for an entirely different reason. “It’s not going to be like _that_ , is it?”

Sensing the young gem’s horror, Ruby shakes her head. “No, not even a little.”

There is an audible breath of relief. “Good, because I… I don’t know if I would like that.”

“Then we don’t have to act like that,” Ruby promises. She sidles in a little bit closer, slips her hands around the timid gem’s waist, and leans in. “You shouldn’t start by jumping in to stuff like that, anyway. Should start with something slow and easy, like a kiss.”

“I think I’d like that,” Leggy murmurs with a short nod, bracing her hands on Ruby’s arms.

When Ruby leans in, Leggy is pliable and receptive—tentative with inexperience, too, yes, but willing to learn for all of that. Ruby strokes her sides, from the broad bulge of her ribs, down to the firm muscles of her quads, and back up again: getting her used to the feeling of being touched. Only once does Ruby rove her palms over the bump of the other gem’s rear, but she is very slow and pointed about it, monitoring for any sort of negative reaction as they kiss.

Leggy is quite interested in all of this, it seems. It doesn’t take her long to grasp the mechanics of kissing and start using the soft flexibility of her lips and tongue to her advantage. In response to her own experimental squeeze of Ruby’s bottom, Ruby lightly nips at her bottom lip, but this only earns a little whine in response.

When Ruby sinks down to sit, Leggy follows, climbing readily into her lap. She lets out a gasp at the way Ruby takes her hips and bodily shows her how to roll them down in sensual slow motion, grinding herself against Ruby’s thighs, but it quickly melts into a groan of pleasure.

“Ha-how does this feel so good?” she wonders breathily. She is moving with Ruby’s hands now, instead of because of them.

“Do you want the long answer, or the short one?” asks Ruby, biting softly just under the angle of the other gem’s jaw. She’s not guiding Leggy’s hips at all anymore, they are moving entirely on their own. She’s getting quite wet; Ruby can feel it through the fabric of her shorts.

“N-neither, actually,” Leggy replies after a distracted moment of gyrating hips. “I’ll figure that part out on my own.”

“Fair enough.” They kiss again. It’s becoming somewhat uncoordinated due to Leggy’s eagerness, but there is something deeply endearing about that. “Phase off your clothes, too?” says Ruby gently.

Leggy nods, face darkened with a flush, but nonetheless complies. As soon as their bared projections are touching, she sighs and lets out a moan. “Everything is so smooth and _soft.”_

Ruby hums in agreement, rubs her palms up over a perky round bottom to get a good grip on the other gem’s hips. “Just this is nice, too,” she says, shifting so that Leggy is fully straddling her waist. She keeps one hand wrapped around the younger gem’s hips and strokes along her side with the other. “Just feeling each other.”

“Uh-huh,” comes the somewhat distracted reply. Ruby feels her hips nudge into her pelvis, experimental—does this angle work, too? “We-we aren’t just going to stop here, are we?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” she murmurs, reaching up and thumbing a delicate nipple on one small breast, earning a strained gasp. The nipple immediately rises to attention. It is a much darker color than the rest of her, a deep rose color, nearly dusky in hue.

“I-I want to go on. Please—ah, _please!”_ When Ruby ducks her head down, the nipple she’s been playing with is warm and flat under her tongue, and the cute roundness of the breast it accompanies rolls beautifully under her hand. She has a very good idea of how wet the other gem is now; rivulets of arousal are startling to trickle over the crest of her thighs.

This time when Ruby adjusts her, Leggy only clings to her shoulders and moans. She is deeply flushed—embarrassed by her own wanton behavior?—but she is also drenched with need and very, very willing. Pretty flexible, too, as Ruby finds out when she lifts her gem-bearing thigh high enough to work herself in.

Leggy lets out a sound like she might weep for the pleasure when Ruby begins to rub their sexes together. Her head falls back even as her hips roll forward, and she pants like this is the hardest physical labor she’s ever been asked to do. “Oh, my diamond, my diamond,” she breathes. She sounds almost frantic, like she is mere seconds away from coming undone (perhaps she is, Ruby thinks; she’s not done this before, after all). “Oh, it feels _amazing_ , why does this feel so amazing? Ah, ah! Ruby, please…!”

Ruby can’t blame her for being so enthusiastic, really. This _does_ feel good. It’s been so long since Ruby has been herself this long that she’s forgotten what the burn of her own desire feels like. She is moving from muscle memory with these positions, mostly. The friction of scissoring, the bump and grind against her clitoris and the pressure spreading her vulva and teasing against her labia, the utterly _slick_ sensation and sound of the act—that’s helping the memories flood back with increasing force, causing her to ache so keenly that she can’t help but pant and moan herself. Truly, Leggy isn’t the only one who needed to be eased into this.

When Ruby ducks her head and starts suckling a nipple again, Leggy’s panting becomes utterly ragged, and Ruby swears she becomes even wetter, slipping about like an eel under the pressure of Ruby’s scissoring. However, it isn’t until Ruby begins to trace feather-light patterns over the square facets of the gem on her thigh that Leggy quakes and utters a thin, shuddering whine in orgasm. There is a flash of white light, and the next thing either of them knows is that there are no longer two of them. The little round, sunset-tinted ship suddenly doesn’t feel quite as comfortable anymore, either. They are tall—not quite tall enough to need to duck, but their afro is brushing the bowed metal ceiling now.

Panic begins to rise in one half of the combined ruby, apologies threatening to spill out of their shared lips like so much water being released from a dam, but the sensation is quelled by her counterpart.

_‘It’s okay, I promise. And we can take advantage of this—look.’_

The rest of the team has not been standing idle while Ruby showed Leggy the basics. Of course, Ruby hadn’t expected them to (unless one is a voyeur, she supposes). A part of her has been curious to see how the other four might behave; they seem to have been working together a long time, their bonding rituals are probably highly intimate.

Well, Ruby thinks as she takes in what has been going on in the meanwhile, if there is a voyeur in this team, it certainly isn’t Army.

“No, no!” Still in her uniform, Army is almost literally boiling with frustration. She alternates between powerful gesticulation and clutching at her hair. “You’re not doing that right! I could do it better, just—gah, tell me what I can do! _I need a mission!”_

Of course, Ruby can understand Army’s vehemence when looking at the context she’s been put in.

To begin, Navy is in Sarge’s lap, and she is putting on quite a show. Her projection is all wide magenta curves and pebbled nipples and softly smirking lips as she slowly rides one of Sarge’s thick thighs. She plays with herself as she does this, rubbing her own sides and fondling her own breasts. The sounds she makes are unapologetically provocative, mewling at this roll of the hips or sighing at that squeeze of the nipple.

Of course, the sighs and mewls become submissive whimpers when Doc approaches from behind and takes over. Now Navy is clutching Doc’s wrist and hair as her cute little breasts are rolled about in wide, rough hands and her neck is licked.

Sarge, in the meanwhile, appears to be an interesting mix of aroused and disgruntled (but Ruby is starting to suspect that the latter is just an unfortunate side effect of having your gem where your second eye should be). She is clenching and unclenching her fists in such a way that makes Ruby think she has not been given permission to touch yet, but _oh, just you wait._ Who can blame her, though?

Whenever Army is bold enough to try and approach, or whenever Doc’s hands begin to travel down her torso, or whenever Sarge so much as _twitches_ , Navy murmurs, “No, I’m not ready yet. Not right now.”

The tension is so palpable you could lean on it, if you wanted.

There is only so long that a ruby can tolerate being told to wait, and if Army’s (completely understandable) distress is indicative of anything, then Navy is toeing that line. None of which is to say that she doesn’t know what she’s doing, but she is also clearly aiming to be completely and utterly _wrecked_ by the first provoked gem she gives permission to.

Leggy, taking in this scene through their shared eyes, doesn’t actually need more encouragement in order to understand Ruby’s idea. _‘You think we could?’_

_‘Know so. Just follow my lead.’_

Their combined form ignores the way their hair scrapes along the ceiling as they march up to Army (whose eyes widen at the sight of them, albeit not in alarm), push at her shoulder to bend her over the rightmost end of the large, half-circle panel of controls, touch screens and dials that takes up nearly half the ship, and wait for the uniform to be phased off with a suddenly very husky utterance of “Yes, _yes,_ do it!” before plunging two fingers inside of her.

Now, considering their combined size, two fingers is actually quite a lot of mass, but Army is already so aroused that she accommodates the invasion easily, sleek and stretching. She hangs her head and lets out a powerful groan as Ruby shows Leggy how fingering can be thorough and satisfying without being cruel.

“Yes, yes, that’s it,” Army mutters—to them, one might presume, but none of her statements seem particularly pointed. “Rougher, deeper! You think I can’t take it?” There is a gasping sort of grunt when they oblige, but it is also accompanied by a fresh wave of lubrication. “Yeah, just like that, _pound me_. Do you have another finger or what? I want to sore tomorrow, do you hear me? _Ngh_ —yes, yes! Gods, yes, just like that, stretch me out—ah, yes! _Fuck me.”_

Army doesn’t seem to have any control over what comes out of her mouth when she is being serviced. However, the high, electric whines that they earn whenever their fingers are particularly rough, or go extra deep—not to mention the trembling in her rear and thighs, and the way she has splayed herself over the dormant controls that clacking and shift under her weight, panting, holding on for dear life—are quite encouraging.

There is a particular spot deep within her—up to the knuckles on even a fused ruby—that, when touched, immediately inspires a flash of searing heat and a shuddering clench of the vaginal walls. It is not hard enough to be an orgasm, but it has the potential to be. Leggy is curious as to how much they would have to stimulate this spot in order to earn an orgasm, fascinated by the temperature pulsing around their shared fingers, but Ruby bids her to wait. It is worth it not to give satisfaction right away.

 _‘Are you sure?’_ asks Leggy, skeptical. _‘It looks like she really wants to finish.’_

_‘She does, but she will finish better if we make her wait for it. Trust me.’_

Still, Ruby is not blind to how hard Army is gripping the edge of the console. The muscles in her arms are straining, and the heat radiating from her is causing the air around her to flicker and warp, and the metal she is touching to glow and smell strongly of iron. She is sweating, but at this point it is rising from her skin as steam. As fellow rubies, Leggy and Ruby notice the rising temperatures, but are not harmed by it.

“Harder, rougher! Do you think I’m a pearl? I can take whatever you—” Army’s running commentary is abruptly cut off by a wavering, needy groan. The scent of hot iron intensifies as she clenches around the fusion’s three large fingers like a boiling hot vice. _“There.”_ Her voice has dropped an octave; she is suddenly all panting breath. Her booted feet, which have long since been lifted off the ground in favor of an angle that led to deeper penetration, kick slightly against the side of the control panel as her quad muscles flex. “There. Oh, there. Like that, just like that, gods, right there. Give me those big, fat fingers—ah, yes! Yes, just a bit more, fuck me harder—I said _harder!_ —just a-a…” The fusion’s fingers keep moving as Army swears loudly and quakes. They rub against that spot she likes so much and relish the sensation of her squeezing, trembling, releasing, and then squeezing around them again. The amount of heat that radiates from her is incredible in its intensity, like touching the core of a small star.

They rub her through two potent aftershocks before she finally goes limp against the controls, grunting and quivering weakly around their fingers. When they pull out, she keens like she has never felt so empty. Then she slumps against the counter, panting and unsteady, the muscles in her powerful legs going limp as she relaxes. “Yeah,” she breathes contentedly. “That’s how it’s done.”

Leggy is so fascinated by seeing Army, of all gems, like this, that she releases the fusion so that she can approach as herself. “Ruby, are you-are you okay?” she wonders, reaching out and gingerly touching her intense teammate’s elbow, just below her gem.

Army nods, has the energy to smile like this is the most endearing display she’s ever seen. “It’s not good if you’re not weak in the aftermath,” she informs Leggy. “In my opinion, anyway.”

Wordlessly, Leggy wraps her arms around Army’s waist and hauls her off of the controls and into one of the five swiveling chairs permanently stationed in front of them. Army chuckles at the thoughtfulness of the act, though she does accept the nuzzle into the side of her neck by gently petting Leggy’s cheek. She also allows the younger gem to kiss her without turning it into power play; the action remains as sweet as Leggy intended.

Ruby, back in her own form, once again acutely aware of her own intimate ache and how it has not been satiated, finds this display heartening and good. Bonding between rubies should not be shortchanged on any level, and it seems to her that if Leggy can be treated like this by even the gruffest members of this team then she is in good hands.

She enjoys the sight of cuddling, but ultimately, right now, it is not near as magnetic as the _sound_ Navy just made.

Since Army and her distracting commentary were pulled away, the dynamic between Doc, Sarge and Navy has shifted. Oh, Navy is still in Sarge’s lap, and she is still utterly impervious to the somewhat intimidating expressions on the paler gem’s face—but that may be because she is now quite busy giving Sarge a deeply sensual lap dance. She rubs her palms up the length of the paler gem’s chest, impulsively tweaking a nipple, while slowly biting and pulling at Sarge’s bottom lip. Her hips move like water, each rolling curve flowing seamlessly into the next. When her captive releases a heavy sigh of restraint, Navy smiles like she feels herself well on her way to victory. Generously, she grabs the paler gem’s flexing hands and places them on the swell of her backside. Sarge holds on, but her touch is surprisingly light, considering the levels of restraint and provocation on her face.

In the meanwhile, Doc is smirking. She is standing just off to the side with her feet confidently planted shoulder width apart and her arms crossed in front of her chest. She plays idly with the strap of one suspender as she watches. The crack of it snapping back into place after she’s pulled it out too far with a thumb is almost rhythmic. Navy doesn’t seem to notice, but Sarge gives a little twitch every time she hears it.

Sarge’s breath hitches at the lingering kiss that Navy leaves on her gem, her working eye briefly slipping shut at the gentleness of the action.

Navy places hands on Sarge’s knees and spreads them apart to make room for the way she slowly squats down between them. Sarge has to let go of her rear as it drops, and the look on her face says she knows what she is sacrificing that touch for (or, at the very least, that she has a good idea).

Hands stroking softly along the top of Sarge’s legs, Navy smirks up at the paler gem as she settles on her knees. She leans in and bites at the gruff gem’s inner thigh, just hard enough to earn a gasp. Sarge’s head tilts back, and her knees open a little wider. One magenta hand disappears behind Sarge’s thigh, and there is a very slick sound. Sarge lets out a breathy groan, spine arching, small breasts jutting out as if begging to be kissed.

“So ready for me,” Navy murmurs with satisfaction. There is another wet noise as her hand moves, and a nearly-imperceptible tremor ripples through Sarge’s projection. The paler gem lets out a shaky sigh, but it is pinched off at the end with an electric whine as Navy’s hand moves again.

“Oh, so _that’s_ where you like it today.” Whether Navy is actually talking to Sarge or herself is a bit unclear. However, there is nothing ambiguous about the way Sarge’s breathing starts coming heavier. She grips the edges of her seat, tense like she’s afraid of making any sudden movements. When Navy notices this, she lets out a very low chuckle and kisses at the inside of Sarge’s thigh again.

Doc has stopped snapping her suspenders at this point. She has shuffled over to get a better look at the way Sarge is being teased, but she makes no move to join. Instead she is watching intently, one hand holding onto the other elbow, and the pad of her thumb rubbing at the corner of her mouth.

“Ruby,” Doc says crisply. “Stop toying around.”

Navy doesn’t pause, per se, but Ruby does notice the way her eyes flick back to the team’s pilot. Her lips curl into a small smirk. “Yes, Ruby. Right away, Ruby,” she says, but the way she looks at Sarge as she says it causes the latter to groan preemptively.

There again, Ruby can’t quite blame the way that Sarge seems to melt when Navy’s tongue joins her fingers. Navy offers wide, leisurely licks and fingers that alternate between hard and slow rhythms. Sarge’s thighs tremble, and a low, wavering noise escapes her.

Naturally, Navy is acutely aware of her audience. She hums cheerily as she works, causing Sarge to jerk and whine in response. She also makes a point of accentuating how aroused the paler gem is, always moving her tongue and fingers to produce gratuitously slick noises.

If the way that Doc is licking her lips and flexing her fists is indicative of anything, then Navy is well on her way to provoking the team captain once more. It seems to be her favorite activity.

There again, Ruby figures _anyone_ would be provoked by the way Navy acts.

It isn’t until Ruby lets out a sigh of her own—mostly at the insistent throbbing of her own groin and how watching this display is only exacerbating it—that anyone seems to remember she is here.

“That’s right,” Doc says, realization widening her eyes behind her yellow visor. The expression quickly dissolves into a smirk that Ruby isn’t sure she knows what to do with. “Ruby and Ruby! I want you to get her ready for me.”

Ruby blinks. “Get me ready for wha—”

“Yes, Ruby!” is Army’s immediate response. She is on her feet as if she had never been exhausted just a little while ago—but then, Ruby thinks, of course she would be. Army loves being given missions.

With a somewhat disappointed hum, Navy nonetheless lifts her head with a loud smacking of lips. Sarge has to take a fortifying breath before pulling her legs off to the side and also reporting for duty in front of Doc, who is actually being quite patient for someone who spouts random demands.

“Be thorough,” Doc instructs the team’s two strongest soldiers as if Ruby is not there. “But save some for me.”

Standing slowly, Navy pops one hip to the side and regards Ruby coyly. Her mouth is glossy with Sarge’s slick. “Good luck,” she murmurs.

That is about all the warning that Ruby gets before Sarge and Army approach her. They are not rough—in fact they pause and wait for a nod of acquiescence from Ruby before actually touching her—but they are firm.

Ruby doesn’t know why she expected much ceremony from either of them, but she is a little surprised to already feel the soft bump of breasts and belly against her back and a broad, hot palm rub down her navel and wriggle between her legs. She lets out a little grunt, but _gods_ , she needs this.

Sapphire’s fingers are always chilly, no matter what Ruby does to warm them. Rubies, though—their touch is always, always warm. Ruby’s eyelids droop as two fingers push inside of her; they feel less like a cool invasion and more like a molten inclusion. Her leg is lifted until it can drape around someone’s waist, opening her up for easier penetration, and while her eyes are still unfocused, she thinks it is Sarge.

Sapphire’s fingers aren’t this thick, either. If Ruby weren’t already so wet, then it might have stretched some to have them push inside. As things are, she is so hungry for stimulation—for _penetration_ —that they don’t really feel like enough.

“Not much to get her ready for,” is Army’s husky remark. Still, those fingers sink in up to the knuckles, and there is a hand that closes around one of Ruby’s breasts, squeezing and tugging her closer, teetering between leaning into Sarge and leaning back against Army.

Wordlessly, a second set of fingers slip between the lips of Ruby’s vulva. She keens from too much sensation when they rub against the hardened nub of her clitoris, and lets out a loud groan when they join the two fingers that are already moving inside of her. Their knuckles push and bump against each other as they finger at different speeds and with emphasis to different places, and the thick sounds of their ministrants can be heard above even Ruby’s own gasping moans. She is far closer to feeling full now—in fact, she is almost _too_ full, but it is a good sensation.

“Ah, gods, please—!”

When Sarge starts kissing at her neck, leaving behind hickeys that steam and tingle, it is all Ruby can do to remain standing. Being on the giving end of something like this is one thing; receiving is another entirely. She is being fingered in two different ways, and one nipple is being pinched, and her neck is being kissed, and she is spread open and surrounded by heat. It is an overwhelming kind of pleasure that she has not felt since… well, since the last time she was amongst her fellow rubies nearly six thousand years ago. She clings to Sarge because it’s easier to cling forward rather than backward, and she breathes hard, and she shudders and moans at the way she is being touched. Truly, she doesn’t know how else to think beyond that.

It’s amazing, really, how rubies always seem to know when one another is on the edge. It is an instinct as strong as learning how to bond with one another, or protecting sapphires.

Get her ready, Doc had said, and rubies are very, very good about following orders. Ruby had lost herself so deeply in the delicious feeling of being enveloped and touched that she had forgotten all about the discussion that had been happening prior to this.

She cries out, the knee of the leg she is still standing on going weak as someone’s fingers—she doesn’t know which are whose anymore, honestly—finds a place in her that is positively Garnet electric, causes her to pant and whimper like an organic beast, voice breaking. It is all going so well, she is on the brink of orgasm—

—And then, just like that, it’s all gone. The hands, the kisses, the warmth, all of it. Sarge sets Ruby’s foot back onto the warmed metal floor of the small ship before stepping away just as abruptly as Army. Ruby is about to feel cold and abandoned until she remembers that _this is what they were asked to do_. And oh, did they do it well. Ruby can feel a hot rivulet of arousal tracking down the inside of her leg now. She is not on the edge of orgasm anymore, oh no, now she is simply hungry for more _._

Doc looks about as smug as if she had been the one to do this to Ruby herself. Her arms had been crossed in front of her chest as she watched, but now her hands fall to her sides. She saunters over to Ruby as if she expects thanks or praise for this idea.

She doesn’t seem to expect Ruby to grab her by the straps of her suspenders and haul her up onto the dormant controls. She lets out a squeal, but is remarkably compliant with the way that Ruby shoves herself between her seated knees. In fact, she scarcely needs to be shoved—she is all but pulling Ruby in.

“I— _mm_ —yes,” she grunts and gasps when Ruby wastes no time in fingering her with her gem-holding left hand. It really doesn’t come as any surprise that Doc is as ready as this. She accepts the intrusion of three fingers quite easily, hissing and keening in response to different experimental speeds and pressures, and Ruby’s hand is soon coated in her the wet of her.

Ruby tilts her wrist, begins to grind her gemmed palm into the pilot’s clitoris as she fingers. As she does this, she ducks her head down and opens her mouth over the proud red ruby in the center of the other’s chest.

Because the contact is so much more direct, Doc reacts first. Her breath catches, and then she lets out a high pitched moan. Ruby leaves open-mouthed kisses on the sturdy square facets of the team captain’s gem. Every muscle and molecule in Doc’s projection shivers palpably in response. The gem is very warm, and seems to pulse in a rhythm that defies Doc’s breathing; no one could touch this jewel and doubt that it truly _lived_.

When Ruby wraps her free hand around the other gem’s waist and pulls her _in_ —deeper onto Ruby’s fingers, closer to her grinding palm, further under the influence of Ruby’s tongue—Doc goes boneless. Her head and shoulders fall back, further exposing her gem to Ruby’s ministrants. She doesn’t even seem to have the energy to move her hips with Ruby’s fingers, she just makes a _noise_ like she is about to fall apart.

Not that Ruby is doing much better, at this point. She is huffing hotly against the bright red gem as her own grinds into the pilot’s clit, half panting and half moaning. She doesn’t even need another form of stimulation at this point, because this touch is going directly to the core of her being, the very essence of her self. Much like gems are sensitive to painful impacts, so too are they vulnerable to soft touch. The sleekness on Ruby’s hand, provided so readily by Doc, only serves as the sort of lubricant that heightens sensation, instead of dulling it.

Ruby’s projection shivers, and while she doesn’t exactly need any other stimulation she swings one of her legs over and starts crushing her own sex against the pilot’s well muscled thigh anyway, just because it helps everything feel so _good_. Doc allows her to do this without complaint—it’s entirely possible that she doesn’t even know it’s happening at this point, so absorbed is she in her own pleasure.

When Ruby’s slicked hand slips, and the new friction against her gem causes her to cry out, Doc is not near as authoritative as she clearly intends to be when she says, “Oh, diamond help me, if you stop now, I—I’ll… I’ll…!” she trails off, lips patting together soundlessly as her eyes go wide and her torso quakes beneath Ruby’s tongue. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter whether or not she wants Ruby to stop. Doc clenches around Ruby’s fingers like a vice—so much more fiercely than Army—and her projection flickers and wavers as Ruby offers one last, gratuitous lick along the facets of her gem. She issues a long, wavering moan.

It is that sound, honestly, which brings Ruby over the edge. It is the kind of orgasm that makes her very _mind_ compress for a moment, a sort of black hole born of experiencing so many things again like new and waiting too long to do this. For a moment, she collapses in on herself, but it is the most beautiful moment of pleasure and bonding that she has felt in a very, very long time. Which isn’t to say that Sapphire has been unable to please her in the past (because that would be untrue), but being amongst rubies is just… different.

By the time she comes back to herself, is able to refocus her eyes and get her breathing back under control, Ruby finds that she is sprawled out on one of the pilot’s seats, and surrounded by five different rubies.

“You still in there, Ruby?” asks Doc with a playful smirk.

“I think we almost lost her for a moment there,” Navy remarks.

“She’s going to be okay, right?” asks Leggy anxiously, peering out from around Sarge.

“She’ll be fine, Ruby,” Army replies. Then, with a conspiratorial sort of grin, “We rubies are tougher than we look.”

Sarge doesn’t speak, but she isn’t grimacing either. In fact, she is almost… smiling? Yes, Ruby would call that a smile. She knows what it looks like now.

She has to laugh at herself. Her own breathlessness. “I’m okay,” she promises. “I’m just—a little out of practice.”

The whole group laughs at this understatement. They laugh like they’ve known each other for centuries—they laugh like friends, like a team.

 _I could be one of them now,_ Ruby thinks to herself. _Just like the old days._

Except it’s not like the old days, because Ruby has Sapphire. She’s known Sapphire too long, Sapphire is a part of her very identity—and, if given the chance, Ruby would choose to return to Sapphire every time.

She has to admit, though, there are a few things Sapphire would be _very_ interested to hear about.


End file.
